Media boss says unpaid internships are 'slave labour'

The BIG Partnership founder Alex Barr said asking interns to work for nothing on the premise of ‘gaining valuable experience’ is “a fig-leaf used by too many agencies and devalues the vital contribution that interns make to our industry”

The founder of public relations firm The BIG Partnership has described unpaid internships in the media sector as “little more than slave labour”.

Alex Barr said asking interns to work for nothing on the premise of ‘gaining valuable experience’ is “a fig-leaf used by too many agencies and devalues the vital contribution that interns make to our industry”.

Barr made the statement as his firm announced all of its interns will now be paid the voluntary living wage of £8.25 per hour.

He said: “We’ve had numerous examples of people, including interns, who’ve come to us after having worked somewhere else without being paid – in one case for over ten months.

“That’s tantamount to slave labour and is abusing the trust of young people who are simply trying their best to get a foothold in our industry.

“In some cases, companies are not even offering basic expenses.

“The fact that many of our interns are genuinely shocked when we hand them a pay-cheque at the end of the week underlines the scale of the problem.

“Over the past 15 years, some of our most talented people, including one of our current board members, have come through our internship opportunities.

“It’s incredibly beneficial to the business, and we also work hard to ensure it’s of real value to all those who serve internships with us.”